2016 Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4 Spyder Group Discussion

In which a review of a Lamborghini devolves into an argument over what constitutes a "supercar."

Three of The Drive’s editors—Josh Condon, Will Sabel Courtney,andSean Evans—recently all had some time behind the wheel of a 2016 Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4 Spyder. They discussed the finer merits and detractors of the absurdly fun, snarling Italian supercar viaSlack, an instant message program with a fun ability to summon random gifs based on what users type. The following is an editedtranscript of that conversation. (Also, for context: Will Sabel Courtney was wearing a set of cutoff jean shorts on the day of the conversation.)

Sean Evans: HEY GUYS. Last week, Lamborghini kindly dropped off a 2016 Huracan Spider. Bless them for that. We all got to have some seat time. Let’s compare notes. Josh, I know you spent some seat time in the RWD Huracan, as have I. How do you think this AWD version stacks up?

Josh Condon: I mean, it has the better numbers on paper. It's certainly more capable on a track. It's also less fun than the RWD model, but one of that car's pillars ACCORDING TO LAMBORGHINI CORPORATE is "Power Oversteer," so what can you expect?

But I was most struck by just how well-made this car is. It's comfortable, it doesn't feel compromised in any way. I know I'm applying an old bias toward Lambo build quality, but they really know how to make, you know, a car nowadays.

Will Sabel Courtney: It feels uncomfortable, though.

JC: Not for me, a people-sized person.

SE: Those numbers, by the by, are a 5.2-liter V-10, naturally aspirated. 602 horsepower and 413 lb-ft of twist

JC: What was uncomfortable? I thought it was plenty cozy.

SE: Will is too much of a Ferrari fanboy to be impartial about anything else.

JC: Well, I didn't notice it. What I noticed from the interior was: Great front and side sightlines for a car with the basic proportions of a bevel chisel; and it looked like they handed a no-bid contract to a toggle-switch supplier. What the HELL was with all those toggle switches?

SE: I liked ‘em. Kinda like a jet cockpit.

WSC: But back to the point.

JC: NO, that is the point. The Huracan in general is one of Lambo's most restrained, and therefore handsome, designs...and yet the interior feels like it was drawn by a 12-year-old who just saw Top Gun for the first time.

WSC: Apart from feeling cramped, the only thing I disliked about the interior was the gauges. Looked like a cheaper version of the Audi system.

JC: It's an immature design, and I hate it. It speaks to the worst stereotypes of Lamborghini fandom.

SE: Just the Huracan or all Lambo interiors?

JC: The Huracan is on the continuum, I'd say.

WSC: I feel like Josh has been bottling up this rant for a while.

JC: I feel like I don't have to listen to you critique anything related to aesthetics, Will, considering you're wearing jorts.

JC: /gif jorts

WSC: You’re all just jealous of the comfort and flexibility these cutoffs provide me.

SE: Design-wise, the exterior is great. I like how aggressive it looks. It’s hard to find a bad angle on that car.

JC: Aggressive without being ridiculous. It's a hard balance.

WSC: True. Maybe the most attractive “bargain supercar” today.

SE: it’s not a bargain. It’s $313K. you can’t even make it a joke.

WSC: For a supercar, that’s bargain pricing.

JC: Better looking than the McLaren 570S? I say no. And the McLaren is far cheaper.

SE: We kinda touched on the McLaren when we did the Ferrari 488 review. I like the McLaren’s looks, but it also fades into the background pretty easily. it’s hard for a Lambo to fade.

WSC: One thing the Lambo certainly has that the Macca and Ferrari don’t: Natural aspiration.

SE: That sound is incredible. I’d speed up just to hear the engine howl then downshift to hear it snarl.

JC: Yeah, it's a hell of a roar.

SE: And that’s why I submitted three extra gas receipts for this car.

WSC: I fully admit to being That Guy driving around at 7,000 rpm in second gear on the highway, just to hear the engine note bounce off the wall.

WSC: Agree as well. But if I were gonna daily it…I’d buy an R8 instead.

JC: Exactly. Given the current entry-level supercar crop, I don't think this thing warrants $300,000+

SE: so as tested was $313,000. base is $262,000. that better?

JC: Not really.

WSC: When an R8 starts below $200K and the 570S and 911 Turbo S do too? Nuh-uh.

JC: The RWD Huracan is closer to $200K, and I'd take that car over this one any day, anyway.

SE: Again, R8 is nice, but I don’t put that in the same class as Lambo.

JC: Why not?

WSC: It’s the same chassis. Same engine.

SE: it’s not a poster car. you don’t lust after it. Kids aren’t hanging the R8 on their walls. It just doesn’t have the same mystique.

JC: Debatable. This car isn't a poster car, either, as far as I'm concerned. It just has the Lambo badge. What makes this a poster car? Seriously? Is every Lamborghini a poster car because of the badge?

SE: I mean, people stop you in traffic to take a photo of the car. They want to hear you rev it. No one does that with an R8.

JC: Same can be said for Alex Roy's 3-Wheeler. Sorry, this isn't a poster car. People know it's a fancy, fast car, but this isn't the Lambo enthusiasts are salivating over.

SE: I think part of Lambo’s DNA is that everything they produce will be revered, a bit, by the masses. Purists are different. but if you’re a Lambo purist, you’re into the V-12 segment in an Aventador or a Murcielago.

JC: Only purists and pre-teens have posters on their walls. And you're making my point. This isn't a poster car.

SE: It's a little poster child but not fully. A postcard car?

JC: And, frankly, I like this car better than the Aventador, just like I thought the Gallardo was the best car they were making at the time.

WSC: /gif tennis match

WSC: Let’s jump back to the Huracan we drove. Would you guys go coupe or spyder?

JC: I don't do spyders. So, coupe.

WSC: I’d do coupe here too. Looks a lot better.

SE: I liked the spyder.

JC: I get that modern spyders have all the torsional rigidity of the coupes and no performance penalty and blah blah blah, but it's a philosophical thing.

SE: but I liked the Balloon White paint with the maroon soft top. it looked sharp.

JC: Again, it is a handsome car.

SE: If i owned one, I wouldn’t drive it in a city where the pleebians could talk to me at stoplights.

JC: You, sir, are not a Lamborghini guy. Like truck nuts and gold chains, attention is kind of the point.

SE: Hey, I’d still take up two parking spots at the mall.

JC: That's because you're a dickhead.

SE: /gif lamborghini guy

WSC: hahahahaha

SE: That’s Will Sable Courtney, but with actual pants, before he climbs back into his 488

WSC: AT LEAST SPELL MY NAME RIGHT IF YOU’RE GOING TO INSULT ME

SE: Nah. That’s part of the trolling.

SE: Here’s what I loved about the Huracan: the power, the stiffness while still being comfortable enough to drive on pockmarked NYC streets, the torque was great but not too much to put down well, the engine sings and those carbon ceramic brakes are brilliant.

JC: I mean really, it's just extraordinarily balanced, right?

SE: I only drove in Corsa mode, so i can’t speak to the other driving modes, but that one was bonkers-fun.

JC: It's powerful but not overwhelming; stiff but not uncomfortable; aggressive looking but not ridiculous. And the communication to the driver from the chassis and steering are remarkable.

WSC: The handling and balance are just downright incredible. As is the engine.

SE: So you’re a rich person, with a spare several hundred thou laying around. Do you buy it?

WSC: For my first or second car? No. For my fifth? Yes.

SE: Spoken like a true (future) rich person.

JC: are you asking if I'd buy this as my daily supercar, so to speak?

SE: Your first supercar. Whether you daily or not would be up to you.

JC: That's a great question. This would be a remarkable first supercar. Arguably the best first supercar, actually. But I would buy something else. That is only based on personal bias, and the degree to which I hate the interior. I would be in a murderous rage every time I got in the car otherwise. "WHY ARE THERE SO MANY FUCKING TOGGLE SWITCHES?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?"

JC: I'd buy the R8.

SE: /gif eyeball

JC: It's got a ton of the same parts, it's better looking, it's way cheaper.

SE: i don’t think it’s supercar status.

JC: Neither is this, really. Or if it is, it's skimming the bottom of that category. But I don't think it is. Also, it's better looking, has the same engine, the same transmission, and the same chassis. So if the Lambo is a supercar the R8 isn't...why?

SE: because it’s an Audi, I guess.

JC: Because it's a Lamborhini? You are both dolts who are too swayed by marketing.

WSC: Don't lump me in with Sean on this.

SE: The definition, per wikipedia, for supercar is thus:

A supercar is a high-performance sports car or grand tourer.[1][2] The term is used in marketing by automakers for unusual, high-end vehicles, and has been used to refer to at least four different sorts of cars:

I don’t think the R8 falls into any of those categories. but Lambo does.

JC: THAT MAKES NO SENSE. In what way? It's a top-of-the-line Audi versus a bottom-of-the-line Lambo. At some point, that line blurs.

WSC: I’m a supercar traditionalist. I think that it should only apply to the likes of the F40 and the 959. Or in modern terms, the LaFerrari and 918.

JC: If the two cars share so much, does that elevate the R8 or sink the Huracan? Either the R8 is a supercar, or the Lambo isn't.

SE: Great question.

WSC: I think it elevates the R8.

JC: I agree.

SE: Elevates the R8.

WSC: The essence of greatness lies in both. The R8 is more livable, the Huracan is more attractive.

JC: Sean is saying the LFA isn't a supercar because it's a Lexus. That doesn't disqualify it.

SE: I don’t think it is a supercar. Pillory me in the comments.

JC: I don't really care about the characterization, except that you're basically willing to pay over 100% more for a very, very mechanically similar vehicle, because "Lamborghini!"

SE: No, no, no. I never said I’d buy one. I just said the Huracan is a supercar.

WSC: So would you buy one?

SE: Between the R8 and the Huracan; Huracan. Between the Huracan and other vehicles in the $300K range; other vehicles.

JC: Holy shit, I just realized WSC said the Huracan is more attractive. I keep forgetting I work among the aesthetically-challenged.

JC: /gif jorts

WSC: you think the Huracan is less attractive than the second-gen R8?

JC: Yes. Because it is.

WSC: Wow. You worked at Details, man.

SE: Okay, so Josh buys an Audi, WSC says forget all the lesser cars and give me an F40. This Huracan review went WELL

WSC: /gif go team

SE: They have longer shorts than you do, Will.

WSC: But uglier legs.

JC: No offense to everybody in this office who isn't me, but car guys have notoriously terrible taste. And that often goes for cars, as well. Just adolescent and wrong. So, actually, offense for everybody!

SE: Readers: Josh’s home address is [REDACTED]

JC: Bring it, dum-dums.

SE: And on that bombshell...

SE: /gif lamborhini huracan

(A short piece of time passes, during which the entire office is surveyed as to whether the Lamborghini Huracan or the Audi R8 is more attractive.)

JC: Not to reopen this, but the informal office poll came out strongly for the R8. Also, REOPENED.